Tales of Team Avatar and Co
by PhoenixFlame121
Summary: Drabbles of one-shots from the infamous Team Avatar's, containing adventure, friendship, and a knowledgeable merchant of cabbage. Featuring their childhood; based in the Air Temples, Earth Kingdoms, Water Tribes and Fire Nations. Featuring Sokka's boomerang, Suki's fan, Toph's Fire Nation headband, and so much more. [updates vary]
1. The Era Begins

**A/U: This story is all about TEAM AVATAR and Co, basic never-before-seen moments. Next chapter will be uploaded very soon.**

**SPECIAL THANKS: to Kaminoko-X, for her amazing editing skills. To BloodyHell101 for helping edit/idea giver/co-write. **

**Oh and please review!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything... unfortunately. So don't sue me. Thank you.**

**TALE OF THE EARTHBENDER**

Lao Beifong wrung his hands nervously, pacing across the worn silk carpets of his sitting room, and ignoring the fine hand-painted murals hanging from the elegantly carved wall. Muttering to himself, a small bead of sweat trickled down his forehead, but he continued to pace. The moonlight night streamed through his newly imported silk curtains, dancing gracefully across the candle-lit room, and he breathed deeply in the night air.

_What is it that takes women so long_? he thought anxiously to himself, stopping at the large door to his bedroom, not for the first time.

A scream pierced through the silence, cutting through his thoughts and Lao winced slightly, his breath coming in faster. The room seemed to spin under his feet, and the pacing didn't help. Ever since his wife has been having… complications with the pregnancy, every day was filled with healers and messengers from the apothecary shops, and every day would make him a nervous wreck, until finally it was time.

Just when he thought he would lose it, a small robed figure appeared in the doorway, respectfully bowing low.

"Master Beifong.." the healer said breathlessly, her hair frazzled and coming loose from the large bun at the back of her head.

Lao stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide with worry. "Yes?" he whispered, half-afraid at her response.

The healer stood up, and smiled widely, but a small crease appeared on her forehead. "Would you like to see your new daughter now..?"

Striding towards the door and pushing past her quickly, he ran into the cavernous room. Almost tripping over the small pile of silken sheets strewn across the red and gold carpet he stopped at his bed. He immediately felt a smile coming onto his face as he looked at his Poppy, and his gaze dropped to the tiny bundle in her arms. Wordlessly he sat next to her, finding it harder to breathe. His wife smiled tiredly, and loud wails emitted from the bundle, automatically making Lao reach for her. Gently taking his first child in his arms, he carefully pulled the blankets away from her face, and touched her soft cheeks. Already a wisp of dark black hair covered the top of her tiny face, and her mouth contorted into a small smile, making Lao's eyes fill with tears. Poppy covered her mouth as if to try and cover the glow of happiness shining on her pale face, but tears started to fall as well. After all this worrying came to an end, their long-awaited child arrived. Time seemed to stop, and as he held her in his arms, he felt that everything was alright in the world. Nothing could ruin this night.

"Toph Beifong.." he whispered reverently, using the name that they had picked out weeks ago, ever since they found out they were having a girl. "My daughter.. My beautiful daughter.."

A tear fell from his eyes and landed on her tiny head, and to his surprise the crying immediately stopped. Lao glanced up at his wife, and she frowned slightly, and brushed a loose strand of her long, dark hair out of her damp face.

"D-Do they usually calm down so quickly..?" she whispered in a hushed voice, looking up at the bowed faces around her, and there was a sharp intake of breath. Lao never took his eyes off of his daughter, and felt the colour drain from his face. Toph opened her eyes, her tiny hands balling into fists and her forehead creasing. But her steady gaze was fixed on a point… above his head. Lao peered into her large, dark green eyes covered with something milky white. Inhaling sharply, he heard a strangled gasp beside him, and Poppy's hand flew up once again to her mouth.

"She's... blind."

**TALE OF THE AIRBENDER**

"Brother Gyatso! Come quick!"

A voice rang out through the stone walls of the Southern Air temple, causing a flock of sparrowkeets to flutter away into the deep, gold sky. Monk Gyatso looked up from his Pai-Sho game with Monk Pasang, and quickly stood up, brushing the settling dust off his orange robes.

"I will be back to finish our game, Brother Pasang, unless you would like to join me?" Monk Gyatso said quietly, already heading quickly towards a small door next to the Zen fountain, folding his hands neatly as he walked.

"Another one?" Monk Pasang hurried up from the stone bench and followed his friend.

"Yes. Most likely about to be introduced to the relics." he replied, throwing open the intricately carved wooden door, and striding quickly down the hallway. He stopped at a faded blue door, with a symbol of three carved swirls at the top, adjusting his wooden necklace as he waited for Pasang to catch up. As he stopped next to his side, Gyatso slowly pushed the door open, slightly nervous but put on an air of tranquility. They stepped into the small room, but stood by the back wall, not just out of politeness. This was because the entire floor was strewn with toys and figurines of all shapes and sizes, some wooden, some clay, and a couple made of tightly woven grass and hand painted delicately.

_There must be thousands of toys in here. _Gyatso thought to himself, not for the first time. But deep inside of him, inside of every monk who resided in the temple, hoped beyond hoped that the Avatar would be reincarnated in their lifetime. His thoughts were interrupted as Monk Tashi came forth from another door almost hidden in the wall, his face stern as always.

"Are you ready for this, my brothers?" Tashi's sharp voice cut through the silence. He thrust his arms out towards Gyatso, handing him a struggling infant in his arms, no more than two years old. He carefully took the child, who huffed with a small rush of air.

"Aang. Welcome, young Airbender." he murmured quietly, and a small smile appeared on his face.

So many newly-born infants were placed in his arms, and all were presented to the relics, in the hope that they would pick The Four, which would symbolize the newly reincarnated Avatar. Though all failed, Gyatso believed this young child was to be special. He felt his heart quicken, and a feeling of elatedness stirred up in him, very similar to the first time he used an air glider back when he was a boy. Aang's eyes widened and he rubbed at them with his tiny fists; it seemed as though his eyes were rimmed with a golden orange. But then, as he let out a small whimper, his eyes flashed red before clouding with a pale stormy green-grey colour.

"Shall we do it now?" Tashi impatiently said, and a hint of annoyance crossed his face.

"Peace, Brother Tashi." Pasang said. "Give Brother Gyatso a moment."

Gyatso shook his head slightly out of amusement and knelt down carefully in the middle of the room, and once again, the presentation of the relics began. Toy after toy was presented to Aang, who was sitting patiently on Gyatso's lap, but his tiny face contorted into a scowl as the toys were placed in front of him. Tashi's frown grew deeper, until Pasang held a small clay turtle above Aang's hands. A smile grew on his face and the infant let out a squeal of laughter, his tiny hands grabbing at the turtle, studying the pattern on the shell with wide eyes. Gyatso exhaled sharply, and reached for a toy himself – now, a wooden monkey. Silently placing it in front of Aang, he promptly dropped the turtle and snatched the monkey, shaking it wildly with hiccupping laughter.

Pasang's smile grew as he now repeated the process with a pull-string propeller, before handing it to Aang. The child carefully piled up his two toys and grabbed the propeller, touching the wings curiously.

"Brother Tashi… Would you do the honors?" Monk Gyatso beamed at the monk, gesturing in front of him.

Tashi's eyes lit up, then quickly narrowed as usual as he nodded stiffly. Delicately picking up a wooden hand drum, he held it in front of Aang as though it might burst into flames at any moment. As soon as his fingers touched the toy, an electric blue light sparked in his eyes, and suddenly filled the room, emanating from the small child brightly, before quickly dimming. Three breaths gasped in unison at Aang, whose eyes had become a light blue. Gyatso's eyes closed, and he sighed in relief, silently thanking all the past Avatars that he would live to see the next. He lifted his head tiredly at the others, who were exclaiming in delight. Standing, Gyatso held Aang, who was struggling to be placed back on the floor so he could play with his toys, in his arms

"Brothers… I present to you the new Avatar. Avatar Aang."


	2. The Tale of the Blade Master

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Avatar... including Sokka's boomerang :(**

**Please review!  
**

TALE OF THE BLADE MASTER

A small girl with raven-black hair and crimson robes sat in the middle of her red and golden room, the only light coming from a lone candle perched on an ornate mantle on the dresser. The flickering glow cast long, dark shadows across the large room, throwing out the dramatic Fire Nation symbol hanging on the wall, and the still, quiet darkness blended in to the nighttime air streaming in from a large window. Various toys were strewn across the messy bed, looking as if they were brand-new and never played with before. The room had an air of wealth, and at a first impression, one might assume that an extremely spoiled child lived there, but Mai was quite the opposite. Holding a small stiletto blade in her small hands, she peered at the tiny flame engraved on the handle and ran a finger curiously on the flat end of the blade, tracing the curving pattern. She had found it in her dad's study when she was wandering alone around her vast house, looking for something to do. No one really cared about the small girl who never spoke a word, and the servants were more than glad to let her be. The knife was displayed boldly on her father's bookshelf; what had caught her eye was how simple the design on the handle was in contrast to the many-bought trinkets and decorations that littered the room, as if to say "See how successful I am, because I can afford all these and you can't." Her little hands snatched every book and box she could reach, and after stacking them in a step ladder fashion, she finally picked up the knife, careful not to touch the sharp edges. She had seen what knives and sword could do, ever since she had taken up the habit of watching the Sai-throwers and knife-assassins practice in a courtyard next door whenever she was bored. Their large manor was next door to the prestigious Fire Master Academy which specialized in the breeding of blade-trainers of all types; those of which Mai admired the most. She would draw her little chair to her window and rest her chin on her arms to watch the men practice whenever she felt lonely, which was not uncommon for her to do. The flashing light as it reflected off the polished metal fascinated her, and the quick, silent movements of the throwers brought a small, rare smile to her face.

"Mai!"

A shrill scream pierced the room and jolted her out of her thoughts suddenly. In surprise she dropped the blade and nicked her finger, causing a single drop of blood to fall and blend into her dark red carpet. A tall figure wrapped in red and gold robes stood in the doorway, her hands covering her mouth at the sight of her daughter holding a knife.

Mai's mother rushed into her room, her eyes wide with horror and kneeled in front of her daughter, face paling.

"How many times have I told you never to touch Daddy's things?!" she cried, a little hysterical. Her gaze dropped to Mai's finger, which was outstretched as the little girl merely stared at the blood in a silent mix of fascination and horror.

"Oh Mai, you cut your finger! What on earth are you doing with a knife?!"

Sighing in exasperation, she grasped Mai's arm, jerking it down a bit. "I told you over and over again Mai, and now look what's happened! I'll have to get the carpet cleaned, and I'll make sure to have a little chat with your father about locking his study, oh look at the blood-"she put a hand to her mouth, and stood up, loosening her grip on Mai, who was a little bit scared. Whenever she did something wrong, she knew that she would get punished, usually sent to her room for an hour. But it wasn't like she was doing things wrong on purpose.

_Wrap my finger up for me; maybe give me a hug like you never do._ She wished quietly to herself as her mother walked her briskly to the kitchen, still muttering under her breath.

"I repeatedly tell the servants to keep a closer eye on her, but does that stop her from getting into trouble?" she sighed, not noticing Mai's dark brown eyes getting a bit wet as she once again understood that she made her mother mad. Just like two weeks ago, when she burst into the middle of a meeting between her father and his governing generals, just to give him a picture she drew.

_*flashback*_

Handing the torn piece of parchment to him proudly, she beamed at the crooked fire nation symbol she had drawn with a small calligraphy brush she had 'borrowed' from his study. A small sigh escaped her father's lips and quickly took the picture from her without looking at it, and his eyes soften a bit, before resuming its hardness.

"Shall we… take a short break and resume later?" a stern-faced general spoke, glancing at the child with an odd expression.

Her father straightened up and shook his head, and much to Mai's disappointment, he did not look at the picture she drew ever so carefully. "It's alright, General Tang. I apologize for that interruption." He gave a small jerk of his head at his daughter that could've been translated as an affectionate nod, but gently pushed her in the direction of the door, tightening his fist that held the picture in it ever so slightly. Three seconds later, Mai silently left the room, pushing the door closed and shook her head stubbornly, forcing herself not to cry. If her mother saw her tears, she knew she would get a stern lecture about not bothering her Daddy when he was working, and to stop crying because she was a big girl now and big girl's didn't cry or bother her parents who were very busy. Mai swiped at eyes and walked, stony-faced, back to her room, letting her dark hair fall over her face to cover her misty eyes.

_*present*_

"You there, I need you to take care of the cut on Mai's finger, maybe put a bandage on it." Her mother released Mai's arm, finally, and patted her head awkwardly. She didn't dare ignore Mai scold her when the servants were around. Oh no, one of them might start a rumor on how the insanely wealthy Governor's wife couldn't take care of her child, then where would they be? That was unthinkable.

Mai stared at the floor silently as one of the kitchen help held her arm gently, and quickly wrapped a limp rag around her finger. She briskly tied it tightly and bowed her head respectfully at the child, before backing away back into the kitchen, safely away from the silent girl who scared her more than the roaring fire in the hearth did. Mai's anger and sadness bubbled up inside her, but she bit her tongue slightly, pushing it back down like she did every time. She was slowly getting used to being scolded and reprimanded every time she put a single toe out of line, but it still hurt her terribly inside. Jerking her sleeve down bitterly, she walked slowly out of the room, and stole a quick look at the line of knives used for cutting the food that hung neatly on the wall, always out of her reach. Maybe when she was older, then she could reach those knives with their sharp blades, the serrated edges never failing to fascinate her. She could imagine practicing in the solitude of her room, twirling the blade and sending it with a flick of her wrist into the wall, embedded in there to never come out. Hushed like a whisper, the sharp sting of a blade yet beautiful all the same. This was exactly how Mai wanted to be. Biting her tongue once again to hold back a small sigh, she walked back to her room, and entered the darkness without a single word.


End file.
